Saturday, 12 May 2012

Everton v Newcastle United: Will Lady Luck shine on the Geordies at Goodison?

Lady Luck has shone on Newcastle United this season but could she give them one huge dose of fortune on the final day of the season?

Newcastle United need to win and hope Arsenal and Spurs to slip up against West Brom and Fulham respectively tomorrow to pip them to third place and guarantee a Champions League place next season. Top four could also be good enough, providing Bayern Munich beat Chelsea in the Champions League final next Saturday, but Arsenal, Spurs and Newcastle know third place will prevent them from having to cheer on the Germans.

Alan Pardew has been named Premier League manager of the Year and no matter what happens this weekend he knows that the home fans are fully behing him now following their less than hospitable welcoming. With astute signings like Demba Ba, Yohan Cabaye and the scoring machine that is Papiss Cisse, Pardew deserves all the plaudits coming his way. But all he will want to do on Sunday is complete the season with a victory at Goodison Park.

The Geordies left Goodison with maximum points last season thanks to a goal from Hatem Ben Arf. They also ran out 2-1 winners at St James' on Bonfire Night. But they haven't recorded the double over the Toffees for a decade.

Everton will be a tough nut to crack though. They have scored 10 times in their past three league outings - v West Brom, Sunderland and Fulham without reply - and will want to beat rivals Liverpool to seventh place. David Moyes has worked wonders on Merseyside and the acquisition of Jelavic, a proven goalscorer, will give him and the fans hope for next season.

The Toffees have the second best defensive record in the top flight but can they stop the red-hot Papiss Cisse from possibly blasting Newcastle United into the Champions League? Our pundits believe they can.

Everton v Newcastle United; Kick Off 3pm May 13 2012

Prediction Panel

Arsenal

Don McMahon

1

V

0

Aston Villa

Frank Pattison

1

V

1

Blackburn

Terry Kennedy

2

V

1

Bolton

Dave Blackburn

1

V

1

Chelsea

Joe Tyler

1

V

1

Everton

Chris Goodwin

2

V

1

Fulham

Neil Springate

1

V

1

Liverpool

Mark Williams

1

V

1

Man City

Callum Rothwell

2

V

0

Man Utd

Peter Lee

1

V

1

Newcastle

Michael Stout

1

V

1

Norwich City

Sue Read

2

V

2

QPR

Arjun Swaminathan

1

V

0

Stoke City

Philip Eccleston

2

V

1

Sunderland

Tony Ratton

1

V

2

Tottenham

Mike Richards

1

V

1

Swansea

Jim White

1

V

1

West Brom

Andy Wakeman

1

V

1

Wigan

Alan Moore

2

V

2

Wolves

Chris Cox

1

V

2

OUR EXPERTS

Writer

Colin Illingworth

2

V

3

Writer

Steve Coulter

2

V

1

Writer

Phil Bundy

1

V

3

Writer

Mitch Waddon

1

V

2

Writer

Matt Turner

TBA

V

TBA

Writer

Chris Pettitt

1

V

1

Writer

Hugh Larkin

2

V

2

Villa fan

Lynette Ranson

TBA

V

TBA

Blackpool fan

Phil Trow

2

V

1

Boro fan

Sue Gardener

2

V

2

Fulham fan

Russell Goldman

1

V

2

Pompey fan

Dan Taylor

2

V

2

Pompey fan

Peter Rendle

1

V

1

West Ham fan

Matthew Beeby

1

V

2

West Ham fan

Nigel Telfer

2

V

1

Editor

Antony Melvin

1

V

1

Panel Verdict

This could go either way.

Home: 9; Draw: 18; Away: 7. TBA 2

* Do we have it right or do you know better? We’d love to hear your views.

Comments

Everton v Newcastle United: Will Lady Luck shine on the Geordies at Goodison?

Lady Luck has shone on Newcastle United this season but could she give them one huge dose of fortune on the final day of the season?

Newcastle United need to win and hope Arsenal and Spurs to slip up against West Brom and Fulham respectively tomorrow to pip them to third place and guarantee a Champions League place next season. Top four could also be good enough, providing Bayern Munich beat Chelsea in the Champions League final next Saturday, but Arsenal, Spurs and Newcastle know third place will prevent them from having to cheer on the Germans.

Alan Pardew has been named Premier League manager of the Year and no matter what happens this weekend he knows that the home fans are fully behing him now following their less than hospitable welcoming. With astute signings like Demba Ba, Yohan Cabaye and the scoring machine that is Papiss Cisse, Pardew deserves all the plaudits coming his way. But all he will want to do on Sunday is complete the season with a victory at Goodison Park.

The Geordies left Goodison with maximum points last season thanks to a goal from Hatem Ben Arf. They also ran out 2-1 winners at St James' on Bonfire Night. But they haven't recorded the double over the Toffees for a decade.

Everton will be a tough nut to crack though. They have scored 10 times in their past three league outings - v West Brom, Sunderland and Fulham without reply - and will want to beat rivals Liverpool to seventh place. David Moyes has worked wonders on Merseyside and the acquisition of Jelavic, a proven goalscorer, will give him and the fans hope for next season.

The Toffees have the second best defensive record in the top flight but can they stop the red-hot Papiss Cisse from possibly blasting Newcastle United into the Champions League? Our pundits believe they can.

Everton v Newcastle United; Kick Off 3pm May 13 2012

Prediction Panel

Arsenal

Don McMahon

1

V

0

Aston Villa

Frank Pattison

1

V

1

Blackburn

Terry Kennedy

2

V

1

Bolton

Dave Blackburn

1

V

1

Chelsea

Joe Tyler

1

V

1

Everton

Chris Goodwin

2

V

1

Fulham

Neil Springate

1

V

1

Liverpool

Mark Williams

1

V

1

Man City

Callum Rothwell

2

V

0

Man Utd

Peter Lee

1

V

1

Newcastle

Michael Stout

1

V

1

Norwich City

Sue Read

2

V

2

QPR

Arjun Swaminathan

1

V

0

Stoke City

Philip Eccleston

2

V

1

Sunderland

Tony Ratton

1

V

2

Tottenham

Mike Richards

1

V

1

Swansea

Jim White

1

V

1

West Brom

Andy Wakeman

1

V

1

Wigan

Alan Moore

2

V

2

Wolves

Chris Cox

1

V

2

OUR EXPERTS

Writer

Colin Illingworth

2

V

3

Writer

Steve Coulter

2

V

1

Writer

Phil Bundy

1

V

3

Writer

Mitch Waddon

1

V

2

Writer

Matt Turner

TBA

V

TBA

Writer

Chris Pettitt

1

V

1

Writer

Hugh Larkin

2

V

2

Villa fan

Lynette Ranson

TBA

V

TBA

Blackpool fan

Phil Trow

2

V

1

Boro fan

Sue Gardener

2

V

2

Fulham fan

Russell Goldman

1

V

2

Pompey fan

Dan Taylor

2

V

2

Pompey fan

Peter Rendle

1

V

1

West Ham fan

Matthew Beeby

1

V

2

West Ham fan

Nigel Telfer

2

V

1

Editor

Antony Melvin

1

V

1

Panel Verdict

This could go either way.

Home: 9; Draw: 18; Away: 7. TBA 2

* Do we have it right or do you know better? We’d love to hear your views.